🔗 Share this article

Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for atrocities due to her severe measures on youth demonstrations which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year started with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests informed media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

After her departure, an temporary leadership headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; which is why I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told media outlets. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this state."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not closure for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We assist several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.